Upstate health providers say flu type B is on the rise in the Greenville community. Parkside Pediatrics has seen more positive tests for flu among children than they’ve seen in weeks, according to Kendall Huguley, a nurse practitioner. The South Carolina Department of Public Health’s latest flu watch for the weeks February 15th to February 21st indicates an increase in regional flu activity in the Upstate. Lab confirmed tests also increased from the week before, according to SCDPH.During the week of Feb. 15 to Feb. 21, 1,715 lab-confirmed tests were reported. In the current flu season, there have been 26,239 lab-confirmed tests reported.Huguley told WYFF 4 she thought Greenville was trending out of flu season until about two weeks ago, when they began seeing several new patients with symptoms. “There have been almost double the number of visits for concern for flu-related illnesses over the past week in provider offices. It’s almost double what is normal for South Carolina,” said Huguley. Huguley said patients are experiencing common symptoms like fever, cough, congestion, along with red and watery eyes, all of which can be symptoms of a flu-related illness. There are only two main types of flu, type A and type B, and recently, patients have been testing positive for type B. “They seem to be feeling worse, and it seems to be a more severe illness than what we were seeing with flu type A. Now that can be individual, but across the board, people seem like they’re feeling worse,” Huguley said. Huguley’s advice for prevention is hand washing, avoiding others with symptoms of the flu, confined spaces with crowds of people, and if people begin experiencing symptoms, to visit their doctor. She said it’s not too late to get a flu shot, either. “Even if you thought you were over flu season and had the flu earlier in the season or you thought you made it through, it would still be beneficial to get a vaccine because flu B is in a high numbers in our community,” Huguley said.While body aches and pain are symptoms of the flu, Huguley said they’ve seen a case of Myositis, which is more common with Type B flu and can cause leg pain, sometimes making it difficult to walk. She said people would need to be examined in person to determine if that’s what’s causing the symptoms. “There can be a more severe case called Myositis that is an extreme inflammatory process in the muscles; it doesn’t always mean that’s what’s going on. But certainly, if your child is complaining of leg cramps and not wanting to walk, it’s something that we should be evaluating in an office.”
GREENVILLE, S.C. —
Upstate health providers say flu type B is on the rise in the Greenville community. Parkside Pediatrics has seen more positive tests for flu among children than they’ve seen in weeks, according to Kendall Huguley, a nurse practitioner.
The South Carolina Department of Public Health’s latest flu watch for the weeks February 15th to February 21st indicates an increase in regional flu activity in the Upstate. Lab confirmed tests also increased from the week before, according to SCDPH.
During the week of Feb. 15 to Feb. 21, 1,715 lab-confirmed tests were reported. In the current flu season, there have been 26,239 lab-confirmed tests reported.
Huguley told WYFF 4 she thought Greenville was trending out of flu season until about two weeks ago, when they began seeing several new patients with symptoms.
“There have been almost double the number of visits for concern for flu-related illnesses over the past week in provider offices. It’s almost double what is normal for South Carolina,” said Huguley.
Huguley said patients are experiencing common symptoms like fever, cough, congestion, along with red and watery eyes, all of which can be symptoms of a flu-related illness.
There are only two main types of flu, type A and type B, and recently, patients have been testing positive for type B.
“They seem to be feeling worse, and it seems to be a more severe illness than what we were seeing with flu type A. Now that can be individual, but across the board, people seem like they’re feeling worse,” Huguley said.
Huguley’s advice for prevention is hand washing, avoiding others with symptoms of the flu, confined spaces with crowds of people, and if people begin experiencing symptoms, to visit their doctor. She said it’s not too late to get a flu shot, either.
“Even if you thought you were over flu season and had the flu earlier in the season or you thought you made it through, it would still be beneficial to get a vaccine because flu B is in a high numbers in our community,” Huguley said.
While body aches and pain are symptoms of the flu, Huguley said they’ve seen a case of Myositis, which is more common with Type B flu and can cause leg pain, sometimes making it difficult to walk. She said people would need to be examined in person to determine if that’s what’s causing the symptoms.
“There can be a more severe case called Myositis that is an extreme inflammatory process in the muscles; it doesn’t always mean that’s what’s going on. But certainly, if your child is complaining of leg cramps and not wanting to walk, it’s something that we should be evaluating in an office.”